So, I was shopping for a cutting board.

Almost every one of them was Made in China. A number of them read, "Designed in USA. Made in China," as if that's supposed to make me feel better. When I hear about the toxic materials in a lot of products made in China, I don't feel right about a 'made in China' cutting board since it's what I'll be preparing all of my food on (particularly vegetables)--who knows how the thing was made or what it was made from. I only saw two boards made in the USA: one was a big heavy wooded board for 30 bucks, which I don't have the money to buy right now, and the other was of recycled materials that didn't seem to be made to last.

Am I being ridiculous worrying about a made-in-China cutting board?

Ironically, as I was looking at the cutting boards, several Chinese people were next to me looking at other kitchen items and speaking Chinese. For some reason I found that amusing.

:hide:

:spray:

Because all people with Asian characteristics ARE Chinese...

:hide:

I'm no expert, of course, but I do my best to try to distinguish the different languages that I hear, as well as to try to recognize the writing/characters. I also try to recognize facial characteristics of different Asian groups, for example, so that I won't think a Japanese person is Chinese, etc.

The physical characteristics and sounds of the languages are quite distinct based on where someone comes from.

:rofl:

I may get yelled at by somebody here for it though...

And I am married to a half Asian man.

:spray:

Seriously, you just made me crack. the. fuck. up.

I had never thought about this, actually. I have a wood cutting board, and I use it all the time. No idea where it was made...

Have you Googled it?

That might be the way to go, to get something made here.

:shrug:

:hi:

Just not for the reason you think.

then you'll feel ok about it being made in China.

I recently did, and it works.

I have some plastic ones for meat.

There's really only a few types of cutting boards you need to consider using.

I have a maple cutting board that I've had forever. It's over 2" thick and is just made out of maple and the wood glue that holds it together. There's really no potential for any toxic materials. I regularly coat it with mineral oil after cleaning and I only use it for vegetables.

Bamboo makes for a nice wood-like cutting board. As with the maple ones, there's really nothing toxic used to make them as they are just made out of bamboo and glue. You shouldn't use them for any raw meats just like a wood cutting board.

High density polyethylene cutting boards are an excellent choice. You should have at least one that you use for raw meats and a separate one you use for fresh foods. I use a couple of them that I use for meats. They are nice because you can run them through the dishwasher.

Glass cutting boards should be avoided as they will dull your knives.

installer and see what they do with the left over portions of installs.

They might sell you a nice piece of granite or whatever to use as a cutting board.

Those still have a place in a kitchen, though, for pastry, chocolate and candy-making :)

they break and they melt surprisingly easily.

But I don't get what having Chinese people in the proximity of a cutting board has anything to do with your post.

It dulls the hell out of my knives, but it works. I do have my grandmother's old cutting board, but I don't want to use it and change any of her marks that were on it. I'd rather preserve it.

If it means that much to you to have one made in America, buy a American grown pine shelving board (untreated, of course) and cut it to the size you want. If you want it fancy, take a Dremel tool to it and scallop the edges.

All you need is something that'll keep you from cutting your counter top. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. I just use a plate. I can wash it afterward and make damn sure no bacteria builds up, collects, and waits in the wings to kill me next time I use it. I'm paranoid that way. :tinfoilhat:
Plus, I know how to sharpen my knives too. So, it's no biggie to me.

The new lounge meme!